Charmy Bee is a young Mobian bee and member of the Chaotix, and the prince of the destroyed Golden Hive Colony. He left his home seeking adventure and ended up taking residence on Angel Island, but returned home after the loss of a close friend. He subsequently rejoined the Chaotix with his girlfriend Saffron after Dr. Eggman invaded and destroyed their home, and continued to fight alongside them and the Knothole Freedom Fighters against Eggman and other evils.

Contents

History

Fleeing from Home

Charmy flew to the Floating Island years ago claiming to be in search of new types of flowers but really to get away from home. Feeling pressured by his status as prince, Charmy lashed out prior to a ceremony and ran from his family. His friend Saffron tried to speak with him about his problems but he ignored her, deciding to leave home for a while. Before he left, he ran into his friend Mello and told him he was running away to the Floating Island and to not tell anyone of his location. Once on the island, Charmy decided there was no harm in making new friends and soon encountered Mighty the Armadillo. He eventually made his home in the region known as Strawberry Fields. (KtE: #3, #14)

Return to Golden Hive Colony

Charmy after returning home.

It was Mello's death that made him decide to return to his home and responsibilities. After taking down the criminals responsible for the 'Happy Sauce' incident, he reunited with his family and informed Mello's parents of his death. He, Saffron and others participated in the funeral before he bid farewell to his former teammates. (KtE: #13, #14, #15)

Having returned home, Charmy accepted his role as prince and allowed his relationship with Saffron to flourish. For a while, life was peaceful and slow for the young prince and his betrothed, but eventually the past caught up with Charmy yet again when Knuckles re-entered his life. Charmy and Saffron both witnessed Knuckles materialize before them as Chaos Knuckles, as the Echidna was undergoing a number of mutations meant to turn him into a living Chaos Emerald and had no one else to turn to. Before Knuckles could explain what was happening to himself, they were approached by Nack the Weasel who got Knuckles to walk away with him under the threat of his sister sniping both Charmy and Saffron. The two bees decided to follow soon after and found Knuckles in the custody of the Albion Security Team and being painfully subjected to the Chaos energy draining effects of Dr. Finitevus's Chaos Siphon Suit. Hoping to save his old friend, Charmy and Saffron shrank down to flight mode and flew in to disrupt the process; however, when Saffron hit a button in hope of stopping the process, it instead reversed the flow and caused everything to malfunction. After an incredible burst of energy, it was revealed that Chaos Knuckles' mutation had been accelerated, allowing him to escape. Charmy would have no idea that the actions he and Saffron took that day would also lead to the horrible transformation of Dr. Finitevus into a genocidal sociopath with the aim of nothing less than ending all life on Mobius. (StH: #93, #94, #182)

Charmy & Saffron recount the loss of Golden Hive.

Things went back to status quo for a while longer, but tragedy struck their colony a year later, after Sonic was presumed to have died during the Xorda's attack. The ever-increasing Eggman Empire sent an army of Egg Pawns to capture the citizens of Golden Hive Colony. Few managed to escape aside from Charmy and Saffron. Most were captured and sent into Egg Grape Chambers with the remaining survivors scattered. The two, weakened and struggling, made their way to the Kingdom of Acorn to inform them of the colony's destruction. Shortly afterward they both joined Knuckles and the Chaotix in their attack on Angel Island to free Knuckles' father, eager to get back at Robotnik in some way. (StH: #138, #139, #140, #141)

Memory Loss

Over a year later, along with almost all the kingdom's population, Charmy was captured during the attack on Knothole that resulted in the city's destruction. While taunting the hostages, Eggman singled out Charmy, offhandedly remarking about he had destroyed the bee's home. Charmy remained defiant as Eggman selected his Egg Grape chamber for first activation. Sonic freed Charmy before it was on for long, and after everyone had been freed, Dr. Quack examined him. While he showed no physical damage, Charmy's mind appeared somewhat scattered and Quack suspected some memory loss. Tearfully, Saffron asked if Charmy remembered who she was, and he happily embraced her, saying he did. (StH: #175, #176, #177, #182)

Charmy defiantly stands against Eggman from within an Egg Grape.

Fighting Eggman

When Dimitri arrived in New Mobotropolis to speak with the Acorn Council, Charmy spied on them to relay their decision concerning Enerjak to Julie-Su, and was later involved in the brief battle with Enerjak in New Mobotropolis. Afterwards, he helped with the construction of the bridge to the new Master Emerald island that had been created as a result of Enerjak battling Super Sonic. Later, when Knuckles, Charmy and Archimedes sat around the Master Emerald, Charmy made a remark that, in part, helped Knuckles get over some of his anger over the Enerjak situation.(StH: #182, #186, #191)

Later, Charmy and the rest of the Chaotix launched an assault on New Megaopolis to take out the Dark Egg Legion and destroy one of Dr. Eggman's communications relays. He, along with Saffron and Ray, were responsible for setting explosives while the rest of the team attempted to kept the Legion busy. (StH: #189, #190)

Charmy and Saffron place mines on the Egg Pheonix.

Days later, after the Suppression Squad were returned to Anti Mobius, Charmy and the rest of the Chaotix aided the Knothole Freedom Fighters in their assault against the crumbling Eggman Empire. First flanking the Dark Egg Legion, Charmy, Saffron and Ray later played a key role in the fight against the Egg Phoenix. While Sonic distracted Eggman, the three placed Tails' Neutralizing Mines onto the ship's hull. Charmy said it was like "planting flowers", and Saffron dryly told him to hurry up. Once the mines were placed, Tails was able to disable the Egg Phoenix and force it to crash. Later, during the fight in the Eggdome, Charmy, with the help of Saffron and Ray, managed to save Espio and Mighty, who were under attacked and pinned before the trio intervened. After Mighty and Bunnie finished beating down the barricade the DEL set up, Charmy and the two teams entered to find Eggman defeated and they all returned to New Mobotropolis to celebrate.(StH: #196, #198, #199, #200)

Afterwards, Charmy and Saffron went to look for more of their people, and were thus absent as Angel Island came under attack by the Downunda chapter of the Dark Egg Legion and Dr. Finitevus. Later, they rejoined the other Chaotix on Angel Island as Espio returned to join his old comrades, having left them on orders from the evil Iron Dominion, who had gained the loyalty of Espio's people, Shinobi Clan of the Dragon Kingdom. After hearing of Espio's mission to observe Knuckles and Vector's Downunda origins, Charmy sought to be included. Espio attempted to jog his lost memories by revealing that Charmy had been a prince of the destroyed Golden Hive Colony, and that Eggman had nearly erased his mind. Unfortunately, that very incident left Charmy unable to recall the truth of Espio's words, which he blew off in disbelief. (SU: #11, StH: #212)

Chaotix Quest

Following the effects of Operation: Clean Sweep, Knuckles saw Charmy flying erratically and asked him if he was all right. The Bee replied that he had experienced a reality where he, Vector, and Espio were detectives, with their own office and everything. This same trio later took leave of their comrades- Espio promising to keep Charmy safe- to search for their missing friends, Mighty and Ray. Going on the last letter that the pair had sent via a Warp Ring, which had returned to Angel island some time previously, the group went to Mercia. Upon arriving, they ran afoul of the Mercia Dark Egg Legion, but received assistance from the Mercian Freedom Fighters. After introducing themselves, the two teams went to the Freedom Fighter base known as Hideaway. The irrepressible Charmy ended up joining in as the tale of Mighty and Ray's recent time in Mercia was told in song by Alan Quail. When Espio made the point of stating that his ninjitsu didn't allow him to do everything, Charmy insisted that it should, and went into a ninja pose. With the narrative over, he and his teammates joined forces with the Freedom Fighters to launch a daring rescue mission, in which they intended to free GrandmasterMordred Hood's prisoners and learn what had become of the missing Mighty and Ray. As they infiltrated Snottingham Castle, they were unaware that the Legion was aware of their intrusion and planning an ambush. (FCDS: #6, StH: #232, SU: #46)

Spring-loaded bars appeared to bar the paths of the heroes, defying even Vector's great strength. However, Charmy-his small size proving an advantage-was able to squeeze through the bars and flip manual release switches. After loaning the Freedom Fighters their Warp Ring, he and the other Chaotix set off to find the Eggnet terminal in the castle, where Mighty would most likely have gone to learn about his sister. Charmy was actually the one to discover it, knocking out the guards and joining Vector in defending the chamber while Espio accessed the computer. He and Vector then went to help the Freedom Fighters deal with Hood and subsequently escape the castle. Using the Warp Ring, the two teams-along with the freed Legion prisoners-returned to Hideaway, where they celebrated their victory. (SU: #47)

The next day, Charmy and his two friends warped to Sand Blast City to continue their search, appearing some distance away from the city due to Espio's suspicions regarding the local Sand-Blasters group. Their caution availed them little, as the Sand-Blasters appeared and demanded to know the reason for their presence. After a failed attempt at peaceful negotiation, the two teams began fighting, Charmy skillfully landing a punch on Jolt the Roadrunner. Unfortunately, he was caught in a net by Avery the Bear, and the distraction it caused Espio led to his capture as well. The trio were then led into the city, chained and netted, with Vector complaining about their failure against the renegade Freedom Fighters after all the enemies they had previously fought. Charmy, in a not so sensitive attempt to comfort his friend, concluded that Vector was defeated so often that nobody would care, annoying the Crocodile. The trio were then surprised to find that Mighty and Ray-aliases "Flex" and "Jitters"-were new recruits to the Sand-Blasters. After a rather harsh acknowledgement from Mighty, the three friends were turned over to their two teammates, supposedly to be taught the "pecking order" of the Sand-Blasters. Fortunately, the two quickly revealed that they had joined the Sand-Blasters under false identities in order to get a better idea of the situation. Relieved that his friends hadn't truly sunk to the level of the Sand-Blasters, Charmy remained with his teammates and Ray-offering encouragement to the younger Chaotix flyer-while Mighty went to meet with Beauregard Rabbot, Grandmaster of the Great Desert Dark Egg Legion. The next day, they learned that Mighty had apparently been captured, and were brought along by on a prisoner exchange mission-which the underhanded Rabbit intended to use as an opportunity to eliminate the Grandmaster.(SU: #47, #48)

Charmy and his teammates quickly came up with a plan to retrieve the Armadillo siblings and use the battle between Legion and Sand-Blasters as cover for their escape. Unfortunately, their cover was blown in the midst of the battle, and they were forced to engage the Sand-Blasters. Charmy noticed Ray as the Flying Squirrel took off to rescue Mighty, and then accompanied his teammates in stopping their friend from harming the Sand-Blasters after his sister Matilda the Armadillo was hurt. Soon afterwards, Charmy and the others learned that Matilda would have to stay with the Legion to recover for a time, but supported Mighty as they used the Warp Ring to return home. A most unpleasant surprise awaited them: Saffron and Julie-Su had been abducted in their absence by Thrash the Devil, who had sent them and all the Echidnas who had been in Albion through a Warp Ring of his own. The group found Knuckles alone on Shrine Island, and the Guardian broke down in response to their questions about their missing teammates.(StH: #244, #246, SU: #49)

Personality

Growing up in the Golden Hive Colony, the responsibility involved in being a prince scared Charmy; eventually, the pressure and self-doubt caused him to run away from home. Having decided that there was no reason to not make new friends, he quickly befriended the other members of what would originally become the Chaotix and was generally friendly and fun-loving. He could be serious when need be, and possesses a true sense of duty that eventually brought him back home to reclaim his royal title and responsibilities. His demeanor became more serious following the loss of Golden Hive Colony, leading to a demonstration of serious defiance in the face of being captured by Dr. Eggman.

After having a large portion of his memory erased by the Egg Grapes, however, Charmy became much more laid back and scatterbrained, reverting to a more childish state of mind. In particular, he finds it hard to believe that there is anything about his life that he doesn't remember. Despite this, he retained his dedication to opposing evil and his strong commitment to his friends.

Romance

Charmy's only known romantic interest and constant companion is Saffron, his only known fellow survivor from the Golden Hive Colony. The two have been together since their colony's destruction, first traveling to Knothole and then rejoining the Chaotix together. Even after Charmy was affected by the Egg Grapes, his affection for Saffron remained, one of the few memories apparently left relatively intact. Sadly, the two were separated as a result of Thrash the Devil's efforts to take revenge on the Echidnas.

Appearance

Charmy Bee is a black-and-yellow striped bee. His design initially mirrored that of the early video games; he wore a black flight helmet with red trim and goggles, white gloves, and white and red sneakers. His shoulders were red. He typically had a single black stripe on each antenna, though this varied between artists. With the release of Sonic Heroes, his character was reintroduced with a new design and the comic followed suit; Charmy now wore an orange vest with a bee emblem on the left, white and orange shoes, and white gloves cuffed with black. The red shoulders became black and the antennae now sport three black stripes each. Like many in the early days of the comic, Charmy was given light blue eyes; these later changed to gold.

Charmy is generally smaller than average in height; while more consistent in later years, early on his size would vary wildly from one appearance to the next. To explain this inconsistency, he was said to have the ability to change between his normal size and a much smaller mode for flight; however, this itself was inconsistently used and later largely ignored as his game redesign better established his height.

For a period of time, Charmy was drawn without his helmet; however, he was drawn with the same red trim of the helmet around his eyes, usually taken as a mistake in the interpretation of the design. Many other bees at the time were given the same odd treatment. For his coronation, Charmy wore a red cape, red boots, white gloves with wide cuffs, and a small crown. He retained the cape in a later appearance. For Bunnie and Antoine's wedding, he wore a tuxedo jacket and red cummerbund.

Abilities

Charmy's natural size is a little shorter than the average Mobian, but he usually stays in "flight mode", his bee-sized form. Able to switch back and forth from small flight mode to large walk mode, though he is capable of flight in either. Indeed, Charmy is apparently able to remain airborne perpetually, though it is unknown how he accomplishes this. (CSE)

Despite his rather diminutive size, Charmy is surprisingly strong, and has been shown lifting Vector despite the Crocodile being quite a bit larger than him.

Background Information

When Charmy was originally designed, he was portrayed as a teenager, as his age as of Knuckles Chaotix was 16. However, Charmy was portrayed in the games as a 6-year old from Sonic Heroes onward. SEGA has not given much explanation for this continuity flub (it should be noted, however, that his age was not given in the original Japanese manual, but rather added for the releases outside of Japan). Because of this, the Egg Grape treatment was meant to cause him to act like the scatterbrained funny-kid he now is in the games. However, he already had his Sonic Heroes design by StH #138.

Ian Flynn has since expressed regret at approaching his new personality in this way, as a character who is essentially brain-damaged being portrayed in a comedic light could be seen as insensitive to some. As a result, Ian has often avoided giving Charmy any comedic moments. This has since changed with the reboot however, as Charmy is now, and always has been, six years old.

Charmy was the first of the Chaotix-besides Knuckles-to have his backstory delved into in the series.

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